Automatic feed-regulating apparatus.



No. 691,627; Patented Ian. 21, I902. G. HOEPNER. AUTOMATIC FEED BEGULATING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Nov. 6, 1900.)

(No Model.) ZSheats-Shaat I.

ma NORRIS PETERS co, HOTO-LIA'HQ, WASHINGTON, h c.

I Patented mi. 2|, I902.

G. HOEPNER. AUTOMATIC FEED REGULATING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Nov. 6, 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

- INVENTOR v Gear ofie znejr Attorneys Tu: Nona GEORGE l-IOEPNER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNION SCALE AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC FEED-REGULATING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 691,627, dated January 21, 1902. I Application filed November 6, 1900. Serial No. 35,671. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE HOEPNER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Automatic Feed-Regulating Apparatus; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to an apparatus which is especially designed for regulating the supply of material to receivers for various purposes.

It consists of one or more hoppers, a means for supplying material thereto,the dischargegate .to the receivers, and a mechanism actuated by the movement of the flowing material through the hopper, whereby the dischargegate is-opened or closed at proper intervals.

It also comprises details of construction, which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is afront elevation of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side view of the lower portion of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a hopper,showing an inverted cup supported therein. Fig. i is a detail in section of the gate 5 and portion of the outlet from the hopper.

The object of my invention is to provide a regulating device for supply-hoppers, so that a constant and regular flow will take place from the hopper at stated intervals and under an approximately equal pressure.

In automatic weighing-machines it is especially desirable that the supply passing into the weighing-bucket should have an approximately even flow and pressure in order to accurately Weigh the passing material.

In the accompanying drawings,showing the application to a weighing-machine, I have shown the outside of the weighing-bucket A, this bucket having interior compartments and a tilting board, by which the flow of material is alternately shifted, which mechanism is not herein shown, since it forms no essential part of the present invention; but it may, for instance, be similar to the compartment-bucket shown, described, and claimed in my former patent, No. 659,923, dated October 16, 1900. The bucket is suspended from a scale-beam 3, suitably fulcrumed, and the mechanism is actuated by the sinking of the bucket when the weight is completed. The discharge-gates of the filled compartment are similarly actuated; but this being no part of my presentinvention is not further described.

The material supplied to the compartments of the bucket is delivered into a hopper 4, the mouth of which is controlled by a pivoted swinging gate 5, and this is actuated by a fulcrumed plate or lever 6, connected with it by a rod or pitman 7. The plate in the present illustration practically forms a bell-crank lever, one angle of which is connected with the gate 5 by the rod 7, and the other angle is connected by a rod 8 with a lever 9,fulcrumed at some convenient point with relation to the upper part of the hopper. The inner end of this lever projects to a line above the interior of the hopper, and suspended from it is an open-bottomed funnel 10.

The supply of material may be delivered by an endless bucket or other elevator or delivered from a chute or other suitable supply device, and the material, falling into the funnel, passes down through it into the hopper.

A weight 12 is slidable upon the lever-arm 9 and is so adjusted as to properly counterbalance the parts.

The material for which this apparatus is designed may be'grain or any of the cereals, either whole or ground, coffee, dry granulated sugar, or any equivalent material which will flow by gravitation.

The operation of this portion of the ma-.

chine will be as follows: The material delivered into the apparatus by the supply-chute or elevator falls into the funnel 10 and, flowing down through the funnel into the hopper i, fills the latter until it has reached the bottom of the funnel 10. This checks the free flow of the material through the funnel,and the latter immediately begins to fill, and when the load within it is sufficient to overcome the counterbalance l2 and the other connected Weights the funnel will sink. The lever 9, tilting about its fulcrum, acts through the rod 8,

bell-crank lever or plate 6, and connectingrod 7 to open the gate 5, and thus allow the material to flow from the hopper into the weighing-bucket. When there is a sufficient weight of material in the funnel to cause it to sink, it is possible that the mass of matefrom sinking unless some relief is afforded rial below it in the hopper will prevent it from the resistance from below. This relief need be very slight, as Very little downward motion of the funnel is required to operate the controlling-gate 5. I have illustrated a form of relieving device which is the one I prefer to use. This is a hollow cup 11, secured within the funnel, having an open bottom and a closed top and which acts as a relief-valve by admitting a portion of the volume of material immediately beneath it. The depth of this cup exceeds the distance to which the funnel must move in order to operate the gate, and hence the amount of material which can enter the cup is always sufficient to allow the funnel to sink into the mass of material beneath, and so to operate the gate 5, permitting the material in the hopper to escape. If the bucket is adjusted to weigh any particular amount, as one hundred pounds, there will always be more than one hundred pounds in the hopper-funnel to supply the weighing-buoket, and as the amount in the funnel is approximately the same whenever the gate is opened it insures an even flow into the bucket-compartment whenever the gate 5 is opened. This is very essential for accuracy in this class of apparatus. In order to retain the gate 5 fully opened until the weighing-compartment has been filled, I have shown a latch 13, having one angle fulcrumed and the free end resting against the curved segmental edge of the plate 6, as at 14. This is the position of the parts when the gate 5 is closed, and when the gate is opened, the plate 6 turning upon its fulcrum-point, the latch 13 will engage the lower edge or an angle in the plate, such as 15, and thus lock it. This latch is operated as follows: A rod 16 extends from the other arm of the latch down to a weighted lever 17, fulcrumed below the weighing-bucket. As here shown, the weighing-bucket discharges through a directingcone 18, and within this cone and below the discharge-mouth of the bucket is a plate or pan, as 19, supported upon a shaft 20, which also carries the weighted arm 17 on its outer end. The weight of this arm is sufficient to normally push upwardly upon the rod 16 and maintain the latch 13 in contactwith the tilting-lever plate 6, so that when this plate has been moved by the action of the flowing material in the hopper to open the gate 5 this latch will engage the plate 6, and thus hold the gate 5 open until the weighing-compartment has been filled. When this occurs, the Weighing-bucket sinks by counterbalancing the scale-beam, and this opens the dischargegate of this compartment, at the same time acting to change the supply from this com partment of the bucket to the other, substantially in the manner shown and described in my said former patent. The material flowing through the dischargegate ol' the bucket strikes the plate 19 and causes it to turn the shaft 20 and to overcome the weighted arm 17, thus pulling upon the rod 16, which is connected with the weighted arm 17 upon the opposite side of the shaft from the weight, and when thus pulled it disengages the latch 13 and allows the funnel 10 and connected parts to resume their first position by gravitation, and this closes the gate 5, so that the hopper t will again be filled and the operation of filling the second compartment of the bucket will be repeated. The How being thus controlled the weights in each compartment of the bucket will always be very accurate.

lVhile I have described the weighingbucket as having a plurality of compartments discharging alternately, it is evident that so far as the feed-regulating devices are concerned they will operate in the same manner as before described in connection with a weighing-bucket having only a single compartnient.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an automatic weighing apparatus, a weighing-bucket having a vertical movement, a hopper delivering into the weighing-bucket, a gate which normally closes the discharge from the hopper, an open-bottomed funnel movably suspended above the discharge part of the hopper, a connection between said funnel and the hopper-gate whereby said gate is opened by the descent of said funnel, means for locking said gate in its open position, and means connected to said lock and controlled by the weighing-bucket for releasing said lock.

2. Adeviceforcontrollingfiowingmaterial, consisting of a hopper having a gate closing the discharge thereof, a fulcrumed lever, connections by which said gate is opened or closed, a lever fulcrumed with relation to the upper part of the hopper, with one end projecting above it, an open-bottomed funnel suspended from said lever and discharging within the hopper, a connection between the outer end of said lever and the gate-controlling lever, a weight adjustable upon the funnel-supporting lever, and means for preventing or avoiding the pressure upon the downward movement of the funnel.

3. A device for controlling the supply of flowing material consisting of a hopper, a gate movable to open or close the discharge of said hopper, a fulcrumed lever-plate having one arm connected with the gate, a second lever fulcrulned with relation to the hopper, an open-bottomed funnel suspended from the end of the lever within the hopper, an inverted cup fixed centrally within the cone of IIO the funnel, a weight adjustable upon the lever and connections between its outer arm and the gate-controlling-lever plate,

4. A device for controlling the flow of material, consisting of a hopper, an open-bottomed funnel, a fulcrumed lever by which said funnel is suspended to discharge within the hopper, a fulcrumed plate, one arm of which is connected with the outer arm of the funnel-supporting lever, and the other with the hopper-gate, whereby the depression of the funnel and movement of the lever act to open the gate and allow the material to be discharged from the hopper, and means for preventing or avoiding pressure of material.

5. In an automatic weighing apparatus, a weighing-bucket, a hopper delivering into the weighing-bucket, a gate which normally closes the discharge from the hopper, an open-bottomed funnel movably suspended above the discharge part of the hopper, a connection between said funnel and the hoppergate whereby said gate is opened by the descent of said funnel, means for locking said gate in its open position, and means connected to said lock and operated by the discharge of material from the weighing-bucket for-releasing said lock.

6. A device for controlling the fiow of material, consisting of a hopper, an open-bottomed funnel, a fulcrumed lever by which said funnel is suspended to discharge within the hopper, a fulcrumed plate, one arm of which is connected with the outer arm of the funnel-supporting lever, and the other with the hopper-gate, whereby the depression of the funnel and movement of the lever act to open the gate, and a latch by which the gate is held open until the contents of the hopper are discharged.

7. A feeding apparatus comprising a hopper having a discharge-gate, an open funnel movably supported so as to receive material and deliver it to said hopper, and having a connection to said gate, and means carried by said funnel for preventing or avoiding pressure upon the downward movement of the funnel and thereby permitting the weight of the material in the funnel to cause it to sink.

8. A device for controlling the flow of material consisting of a hopper, a fulcrumed lever, one arm projecting into the hopper, an Open-bottomed funnel suspended from the inner arm of the lever, a gate by which the bottom of the hopper is normally closed until the hopper is filled up to the point when the additional weight in the funnel causes the latter to sink,connections between the funnelsupportinglever and the hopper-gate whereby thelatter is opened by the sinking of the funnel, a latch by which the gate is retained in its open position until the hopper has discharged its contents, and means for disengaging the latch, and allowing the parts to return to their normal position, consisting of a tilting plate located in the path of a subsequent discharge of material, a rocker-arm actuated by said plate and connection between said arm and the latch.

9. The combination in an automatic weighing-machine of a scale-beam, a bucket suspended therefrom, a supply-hopper delivering into the bucket, a gate which normally closes the discharge from the hopper, a fulcrumed lever located with relation to the hopper, an open-bottomed funnel suspended from one arm of the lever within the hopper, connections between said lever and the hoppergate whereby-the latter is opened by the tilting of the lever, a latch by which the gate is retained in its open position while the flow continues into the weighing-bucket, a tilting plate located so as to be tilted by the discharge from the weighing-bucket', and connections between said plate and the hoppergate latch whereby the latter is released and the hopper-gate allowed to close.

- 10. The combination of a hopper and a controlling-gate therefor, a fulcrumed lever and means whereby it is connected with the gate,

a funnel suspended from said lever and an inverted cup fixed centrally within the cone of the funnel.

11. The combination of a hopper, a gate controlling the discharge of said hopper, a fulcrumed weighted lever and means whereby it is connected with the gate, an open-bottom funnel suspended from the end of the lever within the hopper, and an inverted cup fixed centrally within the cone of the funnel. h In witness whereof I have hereunto set my and.

GEORGE HOEPNER.

Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, OHAs. E. TOWNSEND. 

